Into The Goddesses Dream
by CheeseThingy
Summary: What happens when two worlds start to merge? How does one stop it?
1. Prologue

My heart was racing wildly inside my chest as I lay stunned, face down in the snow. It was difficult for my entire being to comprehend what the hell had just happened. Things had moved from one thing to the next quite quickly. Too quickly actually. Upon trying to move my body I discovered that I could no longer feel it and, by struggling even more against this mental block, I figured there was no way I was going to be able to move it any time soon. My eyes flickered and stung as the snow caught in my lashes. Why did I feel so disorientated? Forcing my mind to focus I tried to make sense of the colourful mess of memories that dashed painfully across my forehead. ..

I remembered a great looming darkness that ignited a horrible bone crushing fear within me but it faded away suddenly... why? Something, no, someone; someone familiar to me came rushing to my aid…_Luka_, my brain answered instinctively. Of course, Luka would never abandon me. But…But…Where was he? No, that could be answered later. I needed to know what happened after he came to my aid.

An unpleasant headache was starting to tear across my head as I tried to force more information from it. Yes! There was more! An unholy ripping sound; a blinding light and then the feeling of being forcefully pushed into the light and falling… landing face down in cold…

But none of that made any sense…Unless…

There came the sound of movement from behind me; heavy sort of footsteps and chatty voices. it ignited a very real panic that tingled through my heart and across my body. I willed my body to get up and just run but it refused. They will know, I screamed internally at myself, they will know you are not one of them!

"There is someone lying on the ground over there!"

Too late.

"Get help! Quick!"

The panic subsided a bit at the sound of their accents. Was I in England? I wondered idly listening as they ran to me rolling me onto my back. My eyes blinked in the light trying to focus on faces; but all I managed to make out was a blurry mess of colour.

"You are going to be alright," The voice sounded soothing, "You are in safe hands now. What is your name?"

"B-Bethany," I managed to mumble out, surprising myself. How was it I could speak but not move?

"My name is Eden," he carefully picked me up; "I assure you everything is going to be alright."

There was another person beside him but my vision remained blurry.

"We shall take her back to Mana Ridge," The other spoke, "I trust you to watch over her until she recovers brother."

Mana Ridge!? I groaned. Luka, where the hell have you sent me?


	2. Chapter 1

"What happened?!"

Eden was greeted by a large group of people who had quickly scurried over upon seeing him; their blurry outlines crowding about us. Some were whispering and others were louder asking the same questions over and over like; who is she? What happened to her?

"We found her face down in the snow just outside Mana Ridge," Eden explained, "We suspect foul play but we won't know much more until she is more physically and mentally stable."

"Let me see her," this voice sounded a little older than everyone else and a gentle hand touched my head, "I see no wounds on her but she is clearly in a bad way. I suspect some kind of dark magic at play here."

"If it is magic then I would know for sure," This was a female's voice and she sounded rather close too, "I think you should hand her to me. I am more than capable of finding out what really happened to her. Besides I am sure you clerics are far too busy praying to the goddess or something."

"Your kindness is appreciated Cynthia," The male spoke quietly, "But we are more adept in healing than any sorceress. She will remain in our care until she is better."

"Humph," The woman named Cynthia sounded displeased, "I wouldn't be surprised if you found nothing. When she wakes I had best be informed right away."

"Certainly," The male replied sincerely.

Groaning at all the talk and all the assumptions I tried to see who these people were but failed; my vision refused to come back to me. This was all so crazy…if they knew the actual truth of it all…urgh! What was I going to do?

"She was only semi-conscious when we found her," Eden held me closer, "and I fear she may be a little worse than that now. I only managed to obtain her name; Bethany. Every other sound that has come from her has only been groans of pain."

"Well done," The older male replied, "At least you managed something from her."

"Next is finding out what happened to her," Another male spoke, and this voice I recognized as the one who was with Eden when I was found.

"Brother Jacob is right," The older voice spoke again, "Take her inside and allow her to recover. When a healer is available we can send one straight to her then we can question her on what happened."

"Yes trainer Leonard," Eden half bowed with me in his arms before walking into the darkness of a building. He was followed by a few others who helped find a place to put me. At least I knew I was going to be well looked after but the only problem was the stress of not having anything to say to explain away what happened to me and I knew that when I recovered that was going to be a major problem. Speaking of which…why wasn't I yet recovered? I should have healed by now…

"I will return to check on you as soon as I return from my mission," Eden spoke softly with reassurance, "Please rest and may the goddess keep you safe."

When he and the others left me alone I felt a sudden overwhelming sense of misplacement. My entire self knew it did not belong in this place and the effects of that were starting to torment my mind with thoughts about never getting home. It was clear I had entered another world or realm and the struggle to adjust was a real thing indeed.

My body was tingling in the familiar way that signaled healing but it was slow and not as fluid as it would have been in my own place. Something was off. Usually my power came naturally to me but here it felt…weaker. This place it didn't feel stable and my power, it also didn't feel stable…

Shaking that aside I tried to distract myself and focus on the room around me but my eyes still refused to make things clear. Instead I laid there and listened to the sound of this new, strange world. Nearby I could hear the clanging of hammer on metal; the bark of dogs; the sounds of walking and general life…

It was odd. This place felt both young and old. Not like the world from which I had left…this place had magic whereas my own world relied heavily on technology…different yet similar…but there was something unsettling about this world and it practically radiated in the atmosphere.

A scuffling and shuffling not far from where I lay alerting me to the presence of two people.

"No I don't have time to show her to you! I cannot let you-" Eden sounded rather distressed.

"Oh don't be ridiculous!" This was another female; younger sounding than the other one, "Cynthia is a fool for letting you clerics have all the fun. Besides I _am_ a sorceress and I am sure I can find out exactly what is wrong with her."

"She needs to rest," Eden persisted, "She has been through a lot. Angelica please!"

"She can have all the other days of the year to rest," This Angelica sniffed importantly, "Besides I suspect you clerics have missed something."

They argued back and forth until the both of them reached my side. The option for rest and peace was clearly non-existent in this place.

"Hmmm," My closed eyelid was forcefully opened by the female and once again the blurry world was revealed to me. This one lacked all tact. How annoying.

"I really think we should just leave her…" Eden sighed defeated.

"I hate to admit it," Angelica sounded rather annoyed, "But everyone was right. She is very, very beautiful."

"You didn't come here to see if dark magic ails her at all!" Eden cried angrily, "You just wanted to compare her to how you look!"

"Duh," Angelica replied, "Cynthia looked absolutely foul when I asked about the girl. She kept saying how ugly the wounded creature was and I just knew something was amiss. She makes Cynthia look like a fluffalo's rear end."

"Are you satisfied?" Eden grumbled, "I have a mission I must complete. You must leave here."

"No I am not satisfied you bum face!" She snapped, "I want to discover what magic has caused her injury and I am not leaving until I find out!"

"What is going on?" Someone else had entered the room and I knew that voice too; the same one who was with Eden before.

"Brother Jacob," Eden sounded surprised, "This isn't…ah…we were just…"

"You were supposed to ensure the girl remained rested," Jacob sounded disappointed, "Not come in here and disturb her."

Finding my voice I spoke softly, "its fine. I doubt I can rest anyway."

The whole room went silent as I sat up gaining use of my body once more as the tingle of healing finally reached my eyes removing the annoying blurriness from them. For the first time in what felt like a long time I was able to see things clearly. The male in the doorway had long white hair that covered one eye and was staring steadily at me; I assumed this to be Jacob because he looked a little older. The other one I assumed to be Eden rushed to my side to offer support; he was clearly the handsomer of the two but also had white hair in a nicely styled cut, "No you should be resting! You have been through so much."

"Welcome back to the world of the living," Angelica greeted sarcastically, startling me as I had not noticed her, "How did you end up face down in the snow anyway?"

Frowning, I focused on Angelica completely taken aback by the lack of clothing she wore compared to the two males in the room. She really looked out of place between them. So this, I thought, was the rude one who came barging in all righteous and idiotic?

"I don't remember," I responded absent mindedly, eyeing her pink hair distastefully.

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously as Eden stared at me with concern, "Really? You remember nothing at all?"

"A white light?" I shrugged, "I don't know."

The older male in the room, Jacob, looked thoughtful, "A white light? Hmm. Angelica you should go speak to Cynthia and ask her if she knows anything about such Magic."

"Are you serious?" Scoffed Angelica, "Talking to her is like talking to an aggravated bull; doesn't help she looks like one too."

Jacob faced her with all seriousness, "It would help a lot if you went to Cynthia now."

Folding her arms she made a 'humph' sound and flicked her head away from him as she left the room. That woman needed a good smack across the back of the head for thinking herself so high and mighty. And I couldn't help myself by remarking on her attitude.

"Are people generally like that or is that just her?" I asked to no one in particular.

"Sorceresses are like that in general," Jacob answered, "It is all a façade really."

"Do they all walk around half naked too?" I asked watching a smile appear on both their faces.

"That is the way they are," Eden laughed, "and they like to flaunt what they have. We have tried many times to show them that the goddess would not approve but the sorceresses believe they know better."

A part of me wanted to ask who the hell this goddess was exactly but the rational part knew better; clearly it was their deity or creator and I really didn't want to be preached to; these guys looked like the priests back in my world except more...armored and battle ready….which lead to my next mental question; why on Earth do they all need to be equipped in such a way? I felt my insides squirm uncomfortably because the more I thought about it the more my brain invented wild fantasies.

"Are you alright?" Eden looked concerned, "You look very pale."

Jacob frowned slightly as he walked over and felt my forehead, "I think she needs rest. It's been a tough day all round."

"This may be a rather odd question," I decided to take a major risk, "But I have forgotten the name of this place."

"Mana Ridge," Jacob responded frowning deeper as he and Eden exchanged looks of concern.

"No," I spoke slowly, "I mean what is the name of this whole place…this whole world…"

Internally I cringed as their expressions changed to shock and alarm. Perhaps this wasn't worth the risk, I thought regretfully.

"This is the land of the goddess," whispered Eden, "This is Altera."


	3. Chapter 2

It wasn't the best feeling in the world to be stared at like I was a complete and utter alien, even though technically I was they just had no idea but, none the less it was a horrible feeling. Shaking that from my mind I figured it was time to play completely dumb. Amnesia was the best course of action even if it wasn't really an original idea but it was all I had. For a long while I sat mentally preparing what it was I was going to say and how it was to be said because I knew one wrong move could cost me everything.

"I think I hit my head too hard," Nervously I laughed under Eden's flabbergasted gaze. Jacob, however, narrowed his eyes at me, "We found you had no indication of a head injury."

It was clear these humans were not dumb and if anything I felt like the fool for thinking they would fall for such an obvious trick but it was too late to back out of what I had already started. All it meant was that things were going to be more difficult than expected.

"It's a sort of expression," I fumbled under Jacob's gaze, "What I mean is that I do not remember anything at all."

"And yet you remembered your name," Jacob's words were soft but I could feel the threat in them and the room suddenly felt at least two degrees colder; so this was how it was going to play out? This male was to be my obstacle? He wont break my resolve, I thought boldly.

"I remember only my name," I replied confidently, "I don't remember my last name or my age…or anything…"

This was a blatant lie; the only thing I had really forgotten was why I had come here in the first place. But they didn't need to know any of that yet.

"Well perhaps if you remember all about Altera," Eden smiled, "Then you will remember everything about yourself! My brothers and I are more than happy to educate you!"

In all honesty, I figured that it wouldn't be a bad thing to learn about this place rather than going in blindly but my mind was afraid; what if there was something about this world that I did not like? What if there was something in this world that I could not fight?

The last question sent an excruciating spike of pain course from the back of my mind to the front as a memory flashed behind my eyes and darkness consumed my vision…

In the warped vision I heard only voices...

_..._

'_You have three days to complete the task. Fail and I will have your past catch up to you.'_

…

'_You think I will allow you to condemn this human to my fate!'_

…

'_You condemn yourself if you don't do as I ask.'_

…

'_Then so be it!'_

…

'_Foolish Fae. If you don't then the whole world shall suffer with you. Remember that.'_

...

"Bethany! Bethany!"

The darkness swirled suddenly back to reality as in that instant I remembered everything that had happened to me before I came flying through the portal and into this world. It all made perfect sense. Funny how things pan out...

Screwing my fists into tight balls I clenched my teeth, "Darius…"

Forgetting about the two men who were holding me, I stood quickly to my feet. So this was why I was here…three days had passed in my own world and I had refused to do as I was asked and my past was looming before me…in the form of—

"Who is Darius?"

Snapping out of my thoughts I turned to face the two males. They were both looking confused and suspicious. It would be a dangerous thing if I kept loosing myself to my memories in front of them. Composing myself I fell back into my role.

"I think," I paused biting my lip, "A relation of mine."

I could see Eden nod thoughtfully buying my lies but, Jacob stepped forward unperturbed, "For quite some time now I have been trying to place that accent you have. I can think of no one _in this world_ who has one similar."

The tension that followed this could have been cut with a knife and yet, I could find nothing to say in response to this. All I could do was stare blankly at Jacob and hope he would ask no more of it. Clearly this guy was too observant for his own good.

"Brother," Eden touched Jacob's shoulder, "It could be the effects of the magic that are doing that. We don't know for sure."

"No, its okay," I looked away feeling it necessary to speak, "Do not make excuses for me. It is natural to be suspicious of someone who randomly appears outside of town with no memory of what had happened and no rational answers to every question. I admit, I would be suspicious too if I were Jacob."

"At least you understand," Jacob was staring almost through me, "Right now it is difficult to trust anyone."

"I didn't ask you to trust me," Here I stared him full in the face and watched as his whole expression changed to confusion.

Eden broke the quiet very quickly, "We just want to know what happened to you and we assure you that we will do everything we can to figure that out. Perhaps in doing so you will remember everything about yourself."

Peeling his steely gaze from me Jacob turned to Eden, "The sorceresses might have something but it is not found here…it would require travelling to Saint's Haven."

Something about hearing this new idea had my insides twisting with worry. What if this _'something the sorceresses had'_ revealed what I was and where I was from? If they were already starting to be hostile then no doubt they would be chasing me across this country to kill me if they found out.

"Saint's Haven!?" Gasped Eden, "But that's so far to go…considering-"

A large commotion outside drew both their attention. There was a general panic in the air as people rushed to and fro calling to one another or else shouting orders. It was the type of commotion that had me curious and yet...slightly afraid.

From further away I could hear the door of the building open, someone run down the hall and closer and closer until the door to my room burst open.

"Eden!" It was another male in the same sort of clothes the other two wore; the only different being their chose of hair style. This one sported a hideous bowl cut.

"What is it Brother Thomas?" Eden rushed to him as Jacob stopped leaning on the wall to pay attention to the newcomer.

"I have no other ways to explain," He gripped Eden by both his shoulders, "Except that we know who the prophet is! Now come quickly! We await instruction!"

Jacob was already out the door as soon as he had heard the word 'prophet' and close behind him scurried the other two, leaving me to sit quietly confused in the room.

"Prophet?" I mumbled to myself, "What the heck is a prophet?"


	4. Chapter 3

So I had been left alone in a small room; forgotten and ignored. It wouldn't have bothered me so much if I were back in my original world but I needed some form of guidance here. It was obvious that after half an hour of sitting and waiting no one was going to come for me and I would have to brave it and venture out into the open. Inhaling deeply I let out a long sigh, Alright I thought, better late than never.

I stumbled from my room and down the long, dark corridor. It was a strange little building and I had no inkling of curiosity as to what was behind the various doors that lined the hall. My mind was too focused on what to do once I was outside for that in it-self was a frightening thing; especially when one does not know their surroundings.

Reaching the end of the corridor I stopped at the door before me; I could see the white light of day shine through the crack beneath and feel the chill of the wind outside. Hesitantly, I rested my hand on the doorknob and felt its coldness. What was I getting myself into? I thought despairingly, I had best just get this over with.

As I opened the door, a harsh iciness stung at the exposed parts of my body and the light reflected off the fresh snow blinded me momentarily. As I blinked all the shock away I was greeted with the vision of a small town filled with little clones of Eden and Angelica; well I say clones but they all had different weapons and hair but appeared to working for the same people. This world was a strange one indeed…

As soon as my bare foot stepped into the snow I felt the world warp into a strange array of colour as the only clearly defined objects were the skyscrapers that lined the horizon. Horrified and confused at this I felt myself hit the floor where instantly everything returned to normal. Panicked by this, I quickly stood and glanced about in wonder but nobody had noticed and they were still going about their business. Shaking away the feeling of paranoia I placed my other foot in the snow expecting something else to happen, but it did not. Perhaps it was a one-time only thing, I thought trying to convince myself.

Glancing down at my clothes I felt the sudden need to find the appropriate outfit for this weather. Looking back up, I scanned the small town and saw a funny little shop where just outside of it a timid looking woman stood. She had previously served a few Angelica look-alikes and they exchanged some form of money…which I clearly did not have. Gnashing my teeth together I decided to walk up to her anyway.

She flinched upon seeing me and shrank back, "H-how can I help you? P-please be nice to me."

This world will never cease to surprise me, I thought before speaking, "I promise I am not here to be rude to you. I have come to ask a favour."

She looked taken aback and stood straighter, "What kind of favour?"

"You see, I haven't any means of money for anything and I am cold," I fixed her with my best sorrowful stare, "Would you be willing to do a trade?"

"Depends on what you are trading," She eyed me suspiciously.

"I offer my current clothing for warmer ones," I motioned to my outfit hoping that she would accept.

"I am afraid the only warm clothing I sell are made for clerics. You see my shop tailors to sorceresses and clerics," She motioned to her clothing section, "And well, you have seen what the sorceresses wear…"

"Have you anything at all?" I was becoming exasperated. There was too much wrong with this place.

She looked thoughtful, "Wait here," She walked into the building behind.

Standing there and freezing my bottom off I felt and intense stare from behind me. Frowning deeply, I glanced behind and saw Brother Jacob staring at me with that same look of miss-trust he had given me before. I hadn't been in this world twenty four hours and I had already made an enemy, wonderful, I thought sarcastically. He turned away quickly and without anyone noticing he walked off into the nearest trees.

"Where are you off to?" I mumbled to myself feeling an immense dislike to this particular human.

"I have this," The girl re-appeared before me, startling me from my thoughts. In her arms she held out a long sleeved dress, "It is mine but I don't wear it anymore."

"Perfect!" I exclaimed, momentarily forgetting about Jacob, and taking it from her arms, "I shall give you-"

"Its fine," She gave a small smile, "I am giving you my dress out of kindness. You don't look like you are from around here."

"Thank…you…," I uttered surprised that out of all the people in the town she would chose me to be kind to, "Is there a place I can change?"

She pointed to the door she had come through before, "Turn left as soon as you enter. No one will see you change in there."

I gave her a small nod and walked into the building turning left as soon as I entered as per her instructions. This room was not unlike the one I had been put in when I was found, except perhaps this felt more lived in and decorated to taste. Well this little shop owner didn't have much but this little room but she appeared to be well looked after. After a quick look of my surroundings I changed outfit and walked back out into the world feeling much warmer and a lot less like a strange new person.

"Better?" The girl asked smiling brightly.

"Very much so," I returned her smile, "Thank you again."

"It was my pleasure," She held her hand out; "My name is Jenny by the way."

"Nice to meet you Jenny," Reluctantly I took her hand and shook it, "My name is Bethany."

"What brings you to Mana Ridge?" She asked offering me a hot beverage which I gratefully took and sipped on.

"Well," Frowning I held the cup close to my chest feeling the inevitable need to lie again, "I can't remember…I just sort of woke up here."

"Oh!" She gasped, "You're the one the clerics found? Goodness! I am glad I helped then. I felt so terrible when I heard about you."

"Yeah…"I mumbled sipping the warm liquid again. It had an odd pleasant flavour but I feared asking what it was, "So I heard something about a Prophet…"

"Oh yes," Jenny smiled, "They think they have found a way to reveal the identity of the prophet. The only problem is that the clerics are suspicious that they have an enemy amongst them. I can't remember exactly, but something happened when they were delivering something important here and the clerics were attacked and badly wounded."

"Attacked?" I took another large gulp of drink feeling my innards clench tightly as the mere thought of fighting and war brought memories dancing to the forefront of my mind.

"Well from what I heard they didn't tell anyone but each other that they were delivering this special something," She looked serious, "and the monsters that attacked them…" She leant in and whispered, "Are allied with the dragon cultists apparently."

Obviously this was meant to mean something to me for she looked at me expecting me to have some kind of surprised reaction.

"O-Oh," I tried to sound horrified and surprised but the moment had passed. She tilted her head, "They said you couldn't remember much. I guess they were right."

"Yeah," I pursed my lips and looked into the contents of my mug, "It kinda sucks."

Jenny blushed darkly as Eden approached hurriedly a worried look on his features, "Jenny, have you seen Brother Jacob?"

"No," She blinked.

"I have," I interjected finally catching his notice.

"Bethany! Goddess forgive me! You shouldn't be out in this cold!" He looked pained by this and shook his head.

"Never mind me," Drinking the remainder of the liquid I stared directly into his face, "You asked about Jacob? Well not too long ago I saw him running into those trees."

Eden's eyes widened, "He's gone after the mole himself! Thank you! Now I must make haste!"

He left us both blinking after him, "I think I should explore this place." I handed Jenny her cup.

"Oh?" She looked at me, "Without a weapon?"

"I don't need weaponry," I narrowed my eyes at the place Jacob disappeared; "I'm going to trap a mole."

"You know who the leak is?" She gasped almost dropping the mug.

"I have my suspicions," I replied, "But I've no time to waste."

Eden was already leaving town with Angelica at his side.

"Thank you Jenny," I gave her one last fleeting grin as I ran into the trees following Jacobs's footsteps, "I am coming after you Jacob and you had best be ready."


	5. Chapter 4

I had no idea what it was I was expecting to find but whatever it was it eluded me. There was absolutely no living creature amongst the trees and snow; all was unnaturally silent. Glancing at the soft powdered Earth I had hoped to find fresh footprints but saw nothing; odd, I thought, Jacobs footprints should still be here. How was it possible for him to cover himself so quickly? This world had a lot more magic in it than I first thought…

For a while I stood amongst the trees listening to the wind rattle through the trees; wondering what it was I should do next. Well there was truly no point in my standing still that was for sure. So blindly, I walked deeper into this unknown forest. The only rational part of me wanted to turn back but the curious and braver side wanted to find this man and give him what for. For a peculiar reason I did not feel so afraid out here…after all nature was my element. Trees had always been my source of protection…

"Ow!" I slipped on something and fell face down in the snow; oh the irony, I thought bitterly.

Spitting snow from my mouth, I looked up and saw in front of me a fantastical mask, half buried in the snow. Standing, I dusted the snow from me and gently picked it up. It was gold and red and very decorative, almost ceremonial. It wasn't the kind of mask one would call pretty but rather frightening especially with the pointed and horned parts. Frowning at it, I turned it over and over in my hands as if expecting it to do something. I wondered as I turned it over again, who owns this?

"What are you doing here?"

Startled I dropped the mask like a hot potato and faced Jacob. A deep frown furrowed his brow as he glanced from me to the mask at my feet. Admittedly, this was not the kind of situation one wanted to be found in.

"I was looking for you," I half spat picking up the mask, "When I found this instead."

He snatched it from my grasp not even looking at it, "You went looking for me on your own?"

"Nah I brought my imaginary friends too," He rolled his eyes at my sarcasm before continuing, "Did you see anything?"

"Was I supposed to?" I asked narrowing my eyes.

For a long while we stared each other down. None of us made a single move but the tension was building until, finally, he slowly reached for his mace that look of murder in his eyes. So this was going to be it then? I thought severely. Wincing slightly, I tried to gather my power but it failed and I instantly grew tired. Internally I cursed at my vulnerability. What was in this world that stopped me from gathering life energy…

"Jacob! We found you!"

The sound of Eden's voice was followed by the sound of a few hurried footsteps and it instantly settled my wavering heart. Jacob promptly changed his whole demeanor and faced Eden who was closely followed by Angelica.

"I was out hunting the cultists," Jacob muttered smoothly, "Then I found Bethany."

Eden's eyes widened as he glanced behind Jacob and at me. Angelica raised a brow, "Are you stupid coming out here on your own?"

"I was looking for Jacob," My pride felt highly wounded. How blind can this pair be? How blind can they all be?

Jacob held the mask out to them, "Bethany may have failed to find me but she has located this."

Eden took it and gasped, "Dragon Cultists! Here!? I must inform Leonard."

Angelica glanced at the mask then at me, "You were alone when you found this?"

"Yes," I spoke through clenched teeth acknowledging her innuendo.

Jacob stood firm, "You had best go and quickly. Take Bethany with you. If the mask was here then the cultists haven't gone far."

"Very well," Eden spoke softly, "Come with us Bethany. You will be much safer in town."

Tensing in a silent rage, I nodded. As I passed Jacob I threw him the best murderous look I could give. A small smirk teased at the corner of his mouth as his eyes met mine and by the time he had looked away I had already murdered him five times over in my head.

It was an awkward, silent kind of walk into town and I could sense Angelica's suspicion. Well, let them think you are something you are not, I huffed at myself, more fool them for when they discover it is Jacob. Upon entering Mana Ridge, I left them to go to their trainers as I walked back over to Jenny.

She smiled instantly at seeing me, "You didn't die! Thank the goddess! Did you find the mole?"

"Yes and no," She picked up on my moody behavior and hastily passed me another mug full of warm liquid.

"Most of the adventurers here that go on missions fail at their job; the sorceresses like to take it out on me especially," She was trying to reassure me but I felt indifferent to it. She looked down a little seeing my mood not change, "You can talk about it if you want?"

"There is nothing to talk of," I murmured sipping on the drink, "I only need proof."

"Proof?" She asked curiously.

Before I could answer we were cut short as Eden approached us. Jenny gasped a little and blushed when Eden bowed to us, "Excuse my intrusion…," He turned to me, " Bethany, Cleric Trainer Leonard wishes to speak with you."

Jenny looked quite fearful at this and looked my way questioningly.

Ignoring her and Frowning deeply, I placed the cup down. I didn't need to ask why I was being so singled out, I already knew. They thought me the mole and traitor. That in itself was obvious. Giving Jenny one last look I followed on behind Eden.

Despite the small distance it was to reach Cleric Trainer Leonard, I had managed to stab Jacob a million times over in my head. Curse my luck; perhaps if I hadn't found the mask _alone_ I wouldn't have so many suspicious of me. Or perhaps if you hadn't come into this world in the first place, I answered myself angrily.

Cleric Trainer Leonard was standing quietly under the shelter of a building; he had just finished speaking with Cynthia when he saw us he nodded gently. Eden bowed respectfully and left me there.

As soon as he was gone I glanced up at Leonard with my clear blue eyes, "I am not your traitor. If that is what you think."

"Then prove it," He responded calmly reaching behind him and taking out a sealed box, "Deliver this to some reinforcements in Marion's Hall. It is imperative that you get it there quickly."

I glanced at the sealed box feeling a little unsure and confused, "What? That's it? You aren't going to torture me or…or anything?"

Leonard sighed, "No. Just do what I ask. Then we shall see."

Feeling the weight of the box in my hands I looked back up to him, "Alright….Where do I find this Marion's Hall?"

He placed a scroll on top of the box, "Read the map and follow the directions."

Just like that the conversation was over and he had his back to me. Numbly, I turned away from him the box clutched tightly in my hands. How on Earth was this supposed to prove anything? What kind of logic do these people use? I asked myself incredulously. Looking out and ahead at the world I felt the vast reality start to set in. Suddenly this place no longer felt as small as it did when I first came through the portal….Suddenly I was a part of it and forced into its fight. Would I come to regret my actions? Or did this all have a purpose?


End file.
